Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Kevin Vickers Talks About His Emotions After Parliament Hill Firefight

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 May, 2015 12:56 PM
    SACKVILLE, N.B. — The man credited with stopping a gunman in a firefight last year on Parliament Hill recalled the emotions he felt after the shooting in a convocation address Monday to university students.
     
    Kevin Vickers said he was in tears the morning after the shooting of Michael Zihaf Bibeau on Oct. 22.
     
    "That day was a blur to me," he told students at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B. 
     
    "I went home that night and I had a hard time going to sleep and I woke up at around 5:30 in the morning and I was crying. It was the loneliest moment of my life."
     
    Vickers, who was the House of Commons sergeant-at-arms at the time, has been credited with firing the shots that killed Bibeau. Soon after the shooting, Vickers was appointed Canada's ambassador to Ireland.
     
    On the day of the shooting, Vickers said he "bumped up against a moment in history" as he recounted what went through his mind in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings.
     
    "I found myself on one side of the pillar and a gunman on the other side of the pillar," he said.
     
    "There was a moment where I thought I'd just reach out and grab the gun. He shot and fired. And the moment he shot and fired, I dove through the air, landing on the floor just beneath him."
     
    Vickers is an Irish-Canadian from New Brunswick who had a lengthy career in the RCMP before joining the House of Commons security staff in 2005 and becoming sergeant-at-arms in 2006.
     
    After the shootings, Vickers said his mother called him on four straight days suggesting he come home to New Brunswick to see his family. It was then he realized she knew he needed to come home for his own state of mind.
     
    He reflected on the importance of mothers based on that experience, and how he felt when he got back to New Brunswick.
     
    "I was OK now, and it was all thanks to mom," he said.
     
    Vickers said he prayed for Bibeau, who stormed into the Centre Block after killing a soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Pilot Dies In Surrey Plane Crash Just North Of Highway 99; Police, Coroner, Safety Board Investigate

    Pilot Dies In Surrey Plane Crash Just North Of Highway 99; Police, Coroner, Safety Board Investigate
    Sgt. Dale Carr of the Surrey RCMP detachment says the aircraft went down on Friday afternoon, just north of Highway 99.

    Pilot Dies In Surrey Plane Crash Just North Of Highway 99; Police, Coroner, Safety Board Investigate

    Chilliwack Triple Murder: Friends, Neighbours Remember Talented Teen Who Suffered Through Applause

    Chilliwack Triple Murder: Friends, Neighbours Remember Talented Teen Who Suffered Through Applause
    CHILLIWACK, B.C. — Whether singing the lead role in the musical "Sunset Boulevard," performing "My Funny Valentine" with her jazz ensemble or playing bass in her high school band, Emily Janzen was lauded for her talents.

    Chilliwack Triple Murder: Friends, Neighbours Remember Talented Teen Who Suffered Through Applause

    Man In Custody Faces Second Charge After Body Found In West Vancouver House

    Man In Custody Faces Second Charge After Body Found In West Vancouver House
    Fifty-four-year-old Li Zhao remains in custody pending his next court appearance on Monday.

    Man In Custody Faces Second Charge After Body Found In West Vancouver House

    Man Charged In B.C. Manslaughter, Arrested By Police In Saskatoon

    Man Charged In B.C. Manslaughter, Arrested By Police In Saskatoon
    LIKELY, B.C. — Police say a homicide charge has been laid in the case of a British Columbia man who was last seen a year and a half ago.

    Man Charged In B.C. Manslaughter, Arrested By Police In Saskatoon

    B.C. Broker Who 'Lied' Ordered By Securities Regulator To Pay $30,000 Penalty

    B.C. Broker Who 'Lied' Ordered By Securities Regulator To Pay $30,000 Penalty
    The B.C. Securities Commission says its panel found William Wood traded in securities that were on his employer's restricted list and set up an offshore structure to hide his trading activities.

    B.C. Broker Who 'Lied' Ordered By Securities Regulator To Pay $30,000 Penalty

    PICS Moves Ahead With Plans To Build A Long Term Seniors Care Home

    PICS Moves Ahead With Plans To Build A Long Term Seniors Care Home
    Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) CEO Charan Gill is often asked why he is so passionate about building a culturally-sensitive long term seniors home. 

    PICS Moves Ahead With Plans To Build A Long Term Seniors Care Home